Happy Friday, my good friends! I hope you’re havin’ a good one so far. Me? Well, this week was three parts hella-busy and one part I-had-no-free-time, but also one part I-fell-in-love-with-a-new-site called “Stereomood.” If you loooove music but you haaaaate a) having to arrange mixes that’ll fit your mood and b) having to wade through the muck only to hit your skip limit on Pandora too soon, then you’re gonna love this find. (It’s that favorite one I mentioned yesterday. This thing is on like all the time for me. I lovingly refer to it as my life soundtrack. Btw, currently obsessing over the “it’s raining” playlist.)

In other news, I’m just psyched beyond all recognition to show you the Finds I have for you today. But first, quick recap: as most of you know, I’m going to be away for the better part of next week (if you have no idea what I’m talking about, click here). {Continue reading…}

A bunch of HUGE things are going on over the next week or two. I shall itemize them now.

(… But I shall also pepper in my hottest dress picks for summer, because who doesn’t love that? A good read (if I do say so myself) + the cutest dresses ever = a great blog post, in my estimation.) Ok, DRESS PIC TIME!

Your proposal stories are b for bananas. I really don’t know how else to describe them. They are just making my YEAR right now. They are so awesome that I need to pursue a column in a wedding or style magazine where I can feature them regularly because that’s how much they rule. And guess what? Set your watches (my 6th grade mathlete buddies) because the series is set to start in a couple of weeks. I know you guys are dying to see them up in lights and believe me, I am dying to bring them to your neck faces. DRESS PIC! … {Continue reading…}

Happy Monday, you crazy kids. How were your weekends? Do anything special? Fiancé and I spent a nice, calm summer day with my Popsicle et al and, all in all, it was pretty relaxing. (Plus, I made a cake!) By the way, to all the brides who got married on Father’s Day: I couldn’t imagine a more wonderful gift to your dad than to let him walk you down the aisle on such a meaningful day. Both my Dad and I are major proponents of the idea! So congrats to any of you who got hitched on Sunday – well played!

(Like the shoes? You might love the Badgley Mischka Randee featured in this post. Btw, if you like ruffled things, here’s my fave quilt EVER.)

Alright, today I’ve got a couple of things I thought I’d share with you, the first of which I’m going to pepper in throughout all the chatter of the second one…

So, number one = totally stylish bridal look inspiration, as photographed by the endlessly creative genius that is Elizabeth Messina and;

Number two = details about how my Dad spent his Father’s Day. Plus, I’ve got a comment on good parenting at end of this post. Well, more like an excellent quote on the topic. Not that you care, but I’m sharing anyway. (;

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Ok, I am obsessed with this bride’s style, and think you might be, too.

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Back to Dad’s Day… some of you might remember that little bit of unsolicited advice I dispensed about Father’s Day at the very end of this post right here; well, I like to make a habit of taking my own medicine, which translates into the kind of Father’s Day we gave the ol’ patriarch. So, how did he spend his day? Exactly the way he wanted to (most activities done with his loving wife by his side):

-watched his morning news programs

-watched Italy and New Zealand end in a tie

-went for a walk

-had a heart to heart with his kidsters

-took a shower

-went to a friend’s barbeque

-got heartwarming cards and calls from each of his kids

-watched a bunch of golf

-took a break to have dinner with us

-watched the end of the golf

-had an amaaaaazing black and white (choc/vanilla) cake with sprinkles, made by yours truly

Because yesterday was Father’s Day, and because proper parenting is so important and so little advice is given to those who don’t actively seek it out, I thought today would be the perfect day to include a passage my fiancé brought to my attention. It’s by the great Kahlil Gibran, author of “The Prophet.” I don’t have kids, so I’m no authority by any stretch, but I’ve got to believe this is one of the smartest bits of thought on the subject of parenting, imo:

-♡-

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts.

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you,

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends with you His might that His arrows might go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

~ Kahlil Gibran

Hope you enjoyed both bits of this post! I’m curious, what do you think of today’s bride’s style? Are you into the ruffle-mania, the statement headgear, the whole shebang? Share your thoughts, either way!

Happy Friday, everybody! Ok, let me just get something out of the way real quick. May I ask a hugetastic favor? If you think I deserve it, please take a sec to let ‘em know over at the Wedding Channel that The Knotty Bride is one of your favorite Real Bride Blogs. (The more votes, the better chance I have of winning!) If you don’t mind, of course. Pretty please? You would make my year! Thank you like crazy! (If you do enter me and you feel like letting me know, go for it and, of course, I’m totally writing you back and thanking you to the high heavens. My gratefulness knows no bounds.)

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Love that, right? Me too. It’s one of the Finds, today. (:

Ok, let’s get going!

First off, this kind of rules. I think it’d be such a fun little project to do at your tame bachelorette party. Personally, if it’s strip club vs. ruffle shirt projects, I think I’ll opt for the ruffle shirt every time. {Continue reading…}

Ok, so let me just say that the response to this has been AMAZEBALLS. (Thank you, Michelle Ward, for turning me on to that one, by the way.) I mean, I knew you guys would be into it, and I also knew you all had some pretty amazing stories to tell, but HELLO. My inbox is flooded with heartwarming, well thought out, totally surprising, totally inspiring proposal stories that had me sitting on the edge of my seat yesterday with a tissue box at the ready. And I have to say – the most surprising thing of all, so far? The stories that have come in from the guys out there. I don’t know how you came upon the site, where from or who recommended you visit, but I am SO GLAD YOU FOUND ME. Because your proposal stories/photos/videos are RULING. And by the way? The stories I’m getting from all my females out there are equally as awesome – please don’t get me wrong, ladies. I just felt compelled to give a z100 shout out to the fellas submitting their love-laden stories to the blog. I didn’t expect it and it has made my year! (Seriously, just wait until you read/see/watch these things. I cannot wait to share them all!!!)

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MARKETING & FIANCÉS

Fun fact: the fiancé has been mostly a back-end guy (SHUT UP) when it comes to the site here. However, recently he’s been trying his hand at a little TKB promotion. He asked me some time ago for a handful of my business cards, with the intention of handing them to engaged girls near his workplace. Every day he says he sees ladies with huge rocks on their fingers and he calls them all “missed opportunities.” (In a business sense, not a nailing sense, obvs.) He’s really serious about this, and because I admire his business sense, and have always felt I can trust his public and interpersonal appropriateness, I thought, hey, why not? It’s not my first choice marketing approach, but he certainly wasn’t reinventing the wheel. Well, last night I saw him in action…

Scenario one: He spies a young woman with a ginormous engagement ring. STOPS in the middle of the crosswalk. RUNS TO CATCH UP WITH HER. She’s listening to music and walking briskly. Taps her on the shoulder and somewhat smoothly shoves the card in her face. RUNS AWAY FROM HER AND BACK TO ME.

Scenario dos: notices a young couple sitting a couple tables away from us at dinner. Asks me: “can you tell if she’s wearing just an engagement ring, or both an engagement ring and a wedding ring?” Me: “Why.” Him: “You know why.” I’m already a little wary of what’s about to go down, but I decide to go along with it, and I peer over to check her finger. It’s dark, I’m half-committed to the operation anyway, and so I can’t make out anything. Me: “Can’t tell.” Him: I THINK IT’S ONE… I’M GOING FOR IT…” Me: “No… wait, WHAT? No… ok fine.” (He’s already up when I say ok fine.) She gets up, he asks her if she’s engaged or married… WEIRDED. OUT. She says, “umm… I’m married.” He still gives her the card because how weird would that have been if he just walked away from the scene?! Card wasted? check. Girl sufficiently weirded out? check. Valiant, if misguided, effort by the fiancé? check.

I took the remaining cards back. Actually, I didn’t have to say anything – he handed them over.

I am rethinking this approach. But even more, I’m waiting for these girls to leave comments on the blog. I expect they will go something a-like a-this:

“umm, hi alison, I like your site, I’m glad some random dude accosted me on the street/while I was enjoying dinner with my husband in a restaurant and shoved your card in my face. I know I gave him the dirtiest of looks when he turned around, but your business card is kickass and I just had to visit. So all in all, a win-win!”

Quick reminder that Father’s Day is June 20th this year. So if you’ve got a Hubby or Popsicle (that’s what I affectionately call my Dad; yeah, you can steal it) who deserves a little special treatment, DO SOMETHING for him. No pressure. But keep in mind the fact that the World Cup games may be slightly more important to the man than family time in a cabin upstate. Just sayin’. She learned the hard way.

xoxo! -Alison

I almost forgot to ask: what are your thoughts on today’s obsessions – any standout faves? And if you don’t feel like talking about that, then what are your plans for Father’s Day, if any?

Hello and happy Friday, everybody! How we doin’ today, eh? Doin’ well? I sure hope so. The weekend is upon us, so that means fun in the sun if all goes according to plan. Anyone have any interesting plans for the ol’ Sat-to-Sun? Me, I kinda feel like hiking again. You discover really cool things when you hike, like wedding venues. Yeah, totally serious. The boy and I plan to re-scope out this random beautiful joint upon which we stumbled while on a hike just north of the city a couple of weekends ago. I shall report back once the verdict on its quality is in. (:

Anywho, while we continue working out our server switcheroonie, as some of you have coined it (which I love and have now adopted), I thought I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring some seriously fabulous finds I managed to scoop up this week. So, here we go!

First up, a few killer details from one seriously UN.BE.LIEV.ABLE wedding, as photographed by – who else – Max Wanger, and featured on 100 Layer Cake. Le sigh. I shall dream about this beach wedding forever and always. Its colors, textures and characters (of the human sort) are the stuff of inspiration shoots, not real-life weddings. So this rocks it to the fullest. And by the way, PERSONALIZED BEACH TOWEL FAVORS ALERT!

Ok, this wedding featured on Style Me Pretty straight-up-now-tell-me blew me away. But most weddings involving horses (not pictured here) tend to blow me away, because, I mean, how did they get horses involved in their wedding? You know? It seems so involved. Do these people own horses? Do they find a horse – I dunno, farm, and shoot there so that it looks like horses attended their wedding? Does the New York Times write, “the wedding was well-attended; also, they had horses” because you can’t ignore the horse-factor. It’s a huge factor. It’s the elephant at the wedding, essentially. (Can you tell that I’m up way past my bedtime right now? It gets crazier and crazier.)

By the way, obsessed with the bouquet. Obsessed. It’s sort of EXACTLY RIGHT.

My good friend Melissa, of The Loveliest Day, made quite a stir in her new role blogging for Ruffled with one seriously sparkle-rific wedding dress… and not to mention super hunky groom. Super. Hunky. (Massive congrats, Melissa! Sooo freaking awesome.) Here’s a lil taste of the fabulosity that awaits you.

Coveting the incredibly laid-back but terrifically chic style of this bang-sporting bride. And just LOOK at that sassy feather statement necklace she’s got on!! Does it NOT fit perfectly with that gown? J’adore. Plus, you guys know how much I love a good bang! Hair, we’re talking hair. (… But I like the other kind, too, obvs.)

I don’t know about you, but for me, a red velvet cupcake + a mason jar = the cutest, tastiest thing possible. I am loving this as wedding favors, especially with the spoons tied to the jars with – my favorite – baker’s twine! Most of you know I have a love affair with the stuff. (Yes, it’s under control now.) I found this awesomeness over on With This Ring, and she found it, plus instructions on cakies blog!

Here’s the supplies list, courtesy of cakies, if you’re interested in trying your hand at these babies:

Ooh, one more thing… you see the chic young lady at the tippy top of this post? Well, her name’s Andi, and she has a blog. On that blog, she posted the musical stylings of the fabulous Diane Birch, and I just seriously have to share this with all of you, if you haven’t already heard of her. Because she’s a whole lotta wonderful.

Ok, I get that these are some pretty REDONK finds I’ve got here today. They may in fact be so fabulous that deciding on a favorite is super way hard. But whatev who cares – I really wanna know so I’m still asking. (:

So, do tell: which of these is/are most inspiring to YOU? Lemme know. I can’t wait to hear!!!

So, you know that dress I mentioned yesterday in my after-post thoughts? The short and sweet sassy piece about which I was so excited? Well, here it is… along with a few of its very close friends. What do they have in common, besides awesomeness? I = OBSESSED WITH THEM.

The moment I laid my eyes on its floral appliqué, I was sold. No really, I’m not kidding. Many of you may remember the various times I’ve alluded to – or just straight out mentioned – my natural tendency to be a saver. Well, when I saw this textured beauty, here’s how it went down: I clicked the link, added the dress to my “shopping cart,” entered my credit card information and completed the purchase, all in a matter of seconds. NO HESITATION. That was once unfathomable to me. To my friends and family, even! I didn’t think I was even capable of such reckless spending abandon. But… here we are.

… And I couldn’t be happier. (Of course, I’ll be sure to update you guys on whether or not that changes when the dress actually arrives at my doorstep. Moment of truth awaits!) FYI: I spotted this BCBGMAXAZRIA stunner on the lovely Nancy’s So Happi Berries!

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Update: It came and I LOVE IT!!!!!! Even the fiancé admires the texture and pattern of the material. Which weirded me out more than it got me excited!

Ok, now for some dress action courtesy of my beloved LuLu’s! We all know how much I adore this little online boutique and its excellent e-session-appropriate offerings. (As evidenced here and here.) Well, recently, I’ve been just as pleased with the lighter, more creamy-colored looks they’ve added to their delightful selection.

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you all had fantastic weekends. We went hiking, which = awesomeness. And afterward we stumbled upon the cutest little wedding location… more on that, later. Now, on to more important things… like THIS:

Esmé satin platform sandals

-♡-

Have you heard? I’m sure you’ve seen chatter about this, but do you know the unbelievable news, in full? First this happened, and now this is happening ↘

That’s right; J.Crew is opening its very own Bridal Boutique, right in the heart of New York City. This is kind of a big deal. And here’s why: I love a lot of what J.Crew offers in its wedding line. Like, overall, love it. Love a handful of wedding gowns, looooove a lot of their bridesmaids dresses, and adoooore their bitty baby frocks (aka flower girl looks). What do I hate? That I CAN’T TRY ANY OF THEM ON.

I’m really looking forward to just plain loving everything about J.Crew’s bridal line, now that they’re opening a store at 769 Madison Avenue, right down the block from where I live – just kidding, I so don’t live on Madison Avenue. But it’s a nice little ride on the train from where I’m located, and I will be taking that ride as soon as this boutique opens. Hallelujah, J.Crew. You finally opened a freaking bridal shop. Jeez. Took you long enough. (Awww, you know I’m hard on you because I love you.)

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Now, while I enjoy their bridal gowns immensely, I have a little news for you… it’s really their bridesmaids’ gowns that rock my socks off. In fact, I think I’d even consider wearing one of them on my wedding day. Whoa! Yes, I know, weird. (Well, really only if I did the City Hall thing.) But seriously, if you take a look at them… well, they’re just gorgeous. So I HIIIGHLY recommend handing each of your maids a swatch and sending them on their merry way to find the perfect dress for your big day. Ooh, and some jewelry and shoes to match. :D

(I feel compelled to note here that it’s a real shame they don’t put their magazine images online – pretty much none of these pics do the dresses justice. Like, at all. Please order the catalog; so much better – so much more eye candy to eat up. Believe me.)

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Silk taffeta Clementine dress

Silk chiffon Taryn dress

Silk taffeta Lorelei dress

Cotton cady Madeleine dress

Jewelry!!!

Pearl and silk wrapped necklace – natural

More jewelry…

MORE jewelry!!!

Another shoe (!!!)…

This one’s the Nicolette strappy heel

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So, are you interested in having a consultation (aka try-on-fest!) with one of their bridal consultants? Great news: even though they’re not set to open until early this Summer, they’re already taking appointments. Which is interesting to me. Anyway, want one? Just email Kate@j.crew.com!

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xoxo! -Alison

Ooh, I almost forgot! Two things:

1) For everyone who was subjected to my teaser about a certain “PERFECT GOWN” the other day on Twitter, fear not; I will be revealing this incredible find (not J.Crew, by the way) in the near future. Quick hint: it’s got it all.

2) I found the CUTEST LITTLE SHORT WHITE DRESS the other day. I’m seriously going to post about it this week, I think tomorrow. It’s sooooo cute. Just wait ’til you see it!!!!!

Listen, if there’s one thing you all know about me, it’s that I’m never, ever, eeeeverrrrr at a loss for words. I’m a writer; words are my friends. But with this wedding, I’m struggling to keep my jaw off the floor long enough to form a coherent sentence.

Jewelry-wise, bouquet-wise, dress-wise, tan-wise, everything-wise. It’s all chanting my name. Alison. Alison. Seriously, if you were sitting next to me right now, you’d think I was touching myself, what with the oooohhs and aaaahhhs that are pouring out of my mouth.

I’m truly in awe of every last bit of this affair, and I will still be in awe in the days and weeks that follow this single post. Because this is one of those rare moments when something that’s just too good to be true… is actually a real wedding.

I’m gonna say it – if I had to choose only ten weddings to take with me to a deserted island, I dare say with real conviction that this chic, stunning affair would be among them. The design touches – and, more importantly, the brilliance that Stephanie Williams employs in documenting them – just straight up take my breath away. This wedding turns the volume up to eeeleven. It’s just that good.

Here are some words from Stephanie:

Ashley + Derek are two wonderful people! They were married at the lovely Mary Star of the Sea church in La Jolla with reception at the Darlington House. We had so much fun documenting their wedding day, which was filled with family + friends – lots of dancing and a little Southern flare! Stephanie + Heather from Amorology did an amazing job coordinating the days events and all the lovely decor! Amazing cakes + desserts by Sweet Cheeks Baking Company. Gorgeous wedding dress by Anne Barge. Flowers by KLF Floral. Blue Breeze Band kept all the guests dancing! Delicious food by Tapendade.

Hello, and good morning, everyone! Hope you’re having a pleasant little Monday so far. And to all the mommas out there, I hope you all had a splendid Momma’s Day, yesterday! A quick shout-out goes out to my Mom and my rad sister, Jenny. They = fantastic mamacitas who make tasty margaritas. Well, my sister makes the margies. But my Mom and I loooooove drinking them! Ooohhh I could go for a Jenny margie right now. On the rocks, extra lime. Wait, it’s Monday morning and these are my thoughts. Baaaad, Alison. Baaaad.

I’m gonna move from drunkenness to dresses, without skipping a beat…

Ok, honestly, I don’t know how any of you could possibly pick just one dress at this point in the game. There’s just too much pretty out there.

You know the effect that Coldplay’s manufactured sound has on most of us? The way it calms things down and gives us those occasional happy shivers? These frocks have the same effect on me…

By the way, I have a couple of hairstyle comments/suggestions to make.

This:

… is how my dear mother styled my hair when I was a wee babe. She worked it up into a clean bun, shimmied me into my dress, and called me Pebbles. So, while I have some of the cutest baby photos you’ve ever seen, I can’t imagine wearing my hair in a similar style on my wedding day. Of course, I’m biased – I don’t want friends and family I’ve known since birth reminiscing about my baby hair ‘dos while I’m to-having and t0-holding. ‘Cause that would be what happened if I wore my hair like this. Which I won’t. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

On the other hand, this:

… is AWESOME. (By the way, I found both of these over at Elle.) It’s really quite perfect for a laid-back, backyard affair… if you love ponytails but don’t want to look like you dialed it in on your wedding day. Personally, I love ponytails (my go-to ‘do), and am always on the search for ways to change it up. So, naturally, I love this. Of course, it may err a little on the side of being too casual, so here, check out my top five tips for great wedding day hair if you’re looking for some fabulous ‘dos for your lovely lady locks. ;)

This next great idea comes from Amy, the amazing force behind one of my favorite blogs, Eat Drink Chic. I think each of your bridesmaids would absolutely adore receiving their own, personalized version of these thank you cards, designed by Leslie Lewis Sigler of Lilly & Louise! Each is a watercolor wash paper silhouette of a dress! Too cute.

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This next find makes my mouth water and eyes light up. We’re all familiar with the fabulous Elizabeth Messina; well, CHECK OUT THE CHOCOLATE BARS SHE HAD AT HER OWN WEDDING…

Yeah. To die. Steal this idea, PLEASE. And send me a photo. :)

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And now, for the ultimate decadence… brought to you by none other than my beloved Tartelette…

Now, the amazing thing about these tasty beauties is that their GLUTEN FREE, and I’ve never seen anything made without flour look so incredibly delicious. Except, maybe these.

Aright, kiddies, that’s it for the Finds! Which of these is your favorite? I’m dying to know. I have this sneaking suspicion it’s going to be the ice cream sandwiches, hands down. But I could be wrong. Let me know. ;)

Have a delightful weekend, everyone! Can’t wait to show you what’s in store next week. Cannot. Wait.

I love fashion. Now, I’m not one of those people who’s obsessed with it – ok I’m obsessed with it. However, somehow I happen to be one of those extremely rare types who gushes over sleek, sexy cocktail dresses, dies for that perfectly embellished belt, and all the rest… but rarely if ever actually buys anything. I have my Dad to thank for that. That’s called genetic code, and my Dad invented the “save your money” chromosome (or whatever; I wasn’t a biology major). He isn’t cheap, not at all, but he DOES NOT BELIEVE IN DISCRETIONARY INCOME. Some of you may be thinking this is a good trait; that I’m lucky. You think I’m lucky to be a born saver? Tell that to my wardrobe. Tell that to my three pairs of shoes. Tell that to my “Winner” Brand black sneakers I got in 7th grade, because my Dad didn’t “understand why you need the Nike ones? These are just as good.” Yeah, you know who you can tell that to? Each and every member of my 7th grade French class. Because they all had a lot to say about those kicks and it didn’t have anything to do with how right my dad was.

As an aside, I learned something from my brand-less K-12 existence: when I have children, I will teach them to be good people, and I will not spoil the crap out of them. But I WILL give them name brand clothing if they ask for it. You may consider that a bad idea, but a little less suffering in those formative years never hurt anybody. *The more you know.*

I digress… back to fashion love. Sometimes… there comes along an accessory. An accessory that reduces all other accessories to cheap whores, and makes me click “buy” without hesitation. (Ok, without much hesitation.) This accessory would need to be the perfect combination of absolute cuteness, real necessity and bang for your buck. Enter: the belts and dresses within this post. OMG.

See that belt up at the tippity top of this post? That’s Ruche‘s wrap around a rose belt in swiss coffee, and it’s only $19.99. I KNOW. Here’s another shot of it:

I am obsessed with that belt, and even more with the ones that follow. Any one of these is THE PERFECT ACCESSORY to add that extra bit of awesome to your little e-shoot sundress or wedding gown or what have you. I’m always thinking about what will result in the best possible photos, and belts knock ‘em out of the park, without fail, my friends. Anthro dresses have never done me wrong, either. Here we go with the rest of my picks:

These belts restore my love for frilly floweryness. (Not that it ever really left me, but I get fed up easily with frilly floweryness. Only so much one can take.)

By the way, yesterday was my Dad’s birthday. Which means my present to him is complaining about a specific childhood experience to the world, one that completely goes against the incredible father he is to me. Aren’t I just the greatest daughter?!

Dad: I love you, man. You are terrific… so terrific that it makes me tear up when I think about just how terrific. That’s pretty terrific. Happy birthday, Popsicle.

THIS WEDDING = MAXIMUM AWESOMENESS. And, in my opinion, a hot pink/fuchsia fête has never looked so good.

Seriously, when I saw this wedding by Matt and Angie of Sloan Photographers, I wanted to do the Homer Simpson running around in a circle on the floor dance. Because the beauty, the colors, the details… EVERYTHING about this wedding is outRAGEOUS. It’s bursting at the seams with jaw-dropping inspiration!

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I officially need a shot in front of a fireworks display at my wedding now. Which means I just added fireworks to my wants list.

So awesome, right? Amazing work, Mr. & Mrs. Sloan! Gotta love husband and wife photography teams. Click here to check out the rest of this fantastic party over on the Sloan Photographers blog!

I just LOVE this wedding; the details make me so incredibly happy. The little Ferrero Rocher gold-foil wrapped chocolates (a childhood fave of mine) marking each guest’s seat at the table, the bride’s big, magnificent jewelry, the simplicity and skillful use of color… and, most of all… HER DRESS. This, ladies and gentlemen, is how a dress should fit. You know and I know that it really does all come down to that. (Well, aside from all the love and happiness stuff, but you follow me.)

The thing is, if your dress fits properly, you own the day. Simple as that. No worries about photos marred by your constant need to lift a falling strapless gown – which happens waaaaay too often. No unsightly gathering or bulging at the waste when you sit down to eat (that is, if you sit down to eat). Proper fit is important, and I advise you to go out and get it. But don’t fret; it’s not a requirement that you spend copious amounts of your earnings on alterations. You may need to do a little sleuthing, but I’m confident that someone you know, somewhere, has the 411 on a stellar seamstress who’s well-versed in making dress dreams come true.

Doesn’t she look phenomenal?!! A perfect fit will leave you looking stylish and sexy, but still completely appropriate. Which is pretty much my definition of the ideal wedding day look.

Now, check out a bride with what I consider a fab, simple ‘do, also shot by Sara. Her name’s Julie, and while she’s stunning head to toe, I especially admired what she did up top on her wedding day. So basic; half-up, half-down. But the classic, timeless beauty of the look she has accomplished makes me swoon!

The love I have for these bridal accessories is comparable to that which I hold for my unborn child. (Don’t have one of those yet so I probably don’t know the true meaning of a statement like that, but I’m still confident that I’ve drawn an appropriate parallel.)

This is not only a grouping of some of the most lovely accessories EVER, but also some truly incredible wedding day hairstyle inspiration. Heck yes, a twofer!

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First up is Lo Boheme‘s Spring/Summer 2010 collection, shot by the fabulous Marisa Holmes in her historic 1888 studio. … These make my mouth water. I need to have about seven of them in my life. Not to mention those DRESSES. I wish they were selling those dresses!!!

Check out their etsy shop if you’d like to have one of these beautiful things in your life.

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This next headpiece blows my mind. I found it over on my darling friend Melissa’s blog, The Loveliest Day. Check. Out. This. Shot.

Yeah. That stunning young woman’s name is Dana, and she’s got herself an Etsy shop called Retr0lux, where she sells fabo headpieces just like the one you see on her beautiful head. And I WANT IT. I also want to look like this on my wedding day. Thought I hated huge, ruffled statement mini jackets. HAH! I WAS SO WRONG. Dana defines style for me today. Can the two of us please go shopping on Melrose sometime? I didn’t realize I needed some pointers until I met you and your unique, brilliant fashion sense.

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I caught a glimpse of Ban.do‘s new line, the “Black Label,” on Mixed Plate, and it made the happiness area of my brain go insane. I had never appreciated head decoration all that much until the very first time I discovered Jen and Jamie’s hyper-feminine designs long ago, and this, their newest line, is doing its part to hold my interest. You guys are gonna eat these things up. Eat. Them. Up.

Yeah, I told you! By the way, I kind of can’t take how ridiculously beautiful this model is. For those of you who don’t know, it’s Alison Sudol, of A Fine Frenzy! Gotta love it.

Here’s why I love this dress (which was featured in one of Abby’s amazing real weddings on Style Me Pretty):

I’ve always been frustrated by two very conflicting desires I have for “THE DREAM” dress. One desire is to have a gown that is simple, playful and girlie, which, for me, translates to just right above the knee. Plus, everybody has a certain feature that they love about themselves, and for me, it’s my gams. (And if you don’t have a feature that you love about yourself, STOP IT. YOU’RE BEING TOO CRITICAL. And if you’re really having trouble, ask someone if you must… in fact it’ll probably make your day.) The other (equally strong) desire is to achieve a classic, elegant look, and not to appear foolish and/or stunted. Which, for me, translates most likely to a floor-length gown. I’ve always assumed that there’s really no in-between, aside from those mid-calf-cutting pedal pusher frocks. And what I know for certain is that I will NOT wear a dress that cuts me off mid-calf. Here’s a little history on that…

When I was younger, I didn’t look like what these 13- and 14-year-old-girls look like these days. I don’t know why, maybe I didn’t drink enough hormone-laden milk products during my formative years. Whatever. I just didn’t look like a woman when I was a child. And in more recent years, I’ve totally embraced that fact. It gave me a few more years to be a kid, and for that, I’m grateful. But it wasn’t doing me any favors back when I was living it. The reason I’m telling you that story is because two features I haaaaaaaaaaaated about my body were calf 1 and calf 2. I really, really, really hated them. And I wasn’t yet the towering 5’4 I am now, so my legs were shorter… and I played soccer. And my mother is German. Sooooo… I had muscular calves. I think they were the recessive and dominant genes available… it was my destiny. They weren’t like these massive calves by any means, it’s just that everyone pointed them out, and how “powerful” they looked. (Thanks, everyone, for that, by the way.)

When I think back on what they said, I realize that they were being more flattering than anything else, but you really can’t blame me. I mean, come on, these were the puber-tastic days. Puberty is defined as not being able to process the pointing out of extremely unique bodily features as a good thing. That is the definition. So I felt hopelessly different, and it totally made the issue far worse in my mind than it ever was.

Anywho, fast-forward a couple years later, and everything changed. EH. VRUH. THUH. I got those things the milk drinkers got – but they came about naturally, which was obviously best. It was a case of latent (or maybe, appropriately-timed?) genetic onset. And boy was life full of sunshine and lollipops from that point, forward. (HAHAHH, just kidding. Boobs and proportional legs do not a perfect life make, Heidi Montag Pratt. But I think you already know that at this point. Actually, do you?)

… Anyway, that kinda sorta in a roundabout way leads me to why I’m a fan of this dress. It’s a sweet little combo of elegant, floor-length style, and tea-length playfulness, all rolled up into one heck of a gown. With no mid-calf cutting of any kind!

Aaalllllright! So! Enough about me, eh? Picture time:

About the dress, since you’re probably wondering: Melody (the bride) purchased it in Manhattan at Cheap Jack’s Vintage Store – I am NOT messing with you, this is real – and had it custom altered to fit her more modern aesthetic:

“My dress was purchased at Cheap Jacks Vintage store in Manhattan for $350. It has no tags, so it might be homemade, circa the 50’s/60’s. It was full length and I had it cut off to be short in the front and long in the back, removed the straps and a pink flower applique, added a jeweled belt, and basically redesigned the entire thing…”

Yeah. She wasn’t kidding around. Amazing job, Melody.

By the way, this girl and I were separated at birth. Evidence:

“My headpiece was purchased on Etsy. It’s actually three things all pinned on my head together because I couldn’t find one I liked by itself.”

This whole week has been a whirlwind. It went by in two shakes of a puppy’s butt. Then on Thursday, this happened:

BARF!

Just kidding – that image makes my heart sing the way that little boy talked about on Oprah that one time. So do these:

So, you know what those are? They’re just a few of the images from my most recent guest post on Style Me Pretty! Arranging the inspiration boards for this wedding brought tears to my eyes; Danah and Ahmad just look so right for one another… there’s this calm contentedness about them. Sometimes you can just feel that two people are going to make it for the long run. And it’s not just in their faces, it’s in the kind of affair they threw. One commentor, named Carrie, said it best: “Just love this wedding… This is just such a wonderful example of a truly sophisticated, classic and elegant wedding! Best of all, the photos aren’t stuffy making for such a beautiful balance!” {Photos by Amelia Lyon}

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Ok, back to my week: it started out as any fine week does, with what turned out to be a spectacular event put on by the Wedding Salon at the Roosevelt Hotel on Monday (Grazia, I LOVED it. Fabulous job, missy!), and is rounding itself out with huge loads (sexually inappropriate comment for the day? CHECK) of blog world love and affection that I never, ever… in my wildest dreams… could have imagined would come my way. For the most part regarding Wednesday’s announcement. And I’ve got to say, though it may sound a little ridiculous, I feel like the friendships I’ve begun to cultivate since my entry into the bliggity blogosphere actually rival those that have naturally evolved over the span of my lifetime. Which either makes me a complete tool, or really lucky. Going with lucky.

This is gonna sound boastful, but I couldn’t possibly thank everybody here, so I just want to send out a massive THANK YOU to everyone who has been so magically delicious in my general direction this week, and always. I love you with the same intensity that I love this:

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Ok, here’s some proof that it has totally made sense for me to save up all those empty wine bottles all these years. Oh, and say hello again to those Anthro knobs that just keep popping up! (Sexual reference much?) KNOTTY TIP: there are almost always a crapload of knobs on sale at Anthro, so they’re totally not hard to get your hands on if you’re looking to recreate a shoot like this one.

Here’s why… No. 1: it’s interactive online artwork, which is just one of those fun things that make Friday at work a little bit more tolerable, and No. 2: it reminds me of the book, “The Giving Tree,” a treasure of a read that made my little brother cry when he was young. Yes, my little (currently 24-year-old) brother is one of those rare types… you know, the type with feelings. Looks like a football player, but capable of a heart-to-heart. Perfect guy.

Aaaaaand finally, a totally off-topic find from Cute Overload that beats all of this. I am quoting the author, “Meg,” here:

OMG. I seriously cannot stop laughing at this poor dog. I think I’ve been laughing for a solid five minutes. Look at that haircut. He must be absolutely furious. LOOK at the fro with the trapezoid that is cut out to allow his beady eyes some room! OMG, ROTFL. And the poor other dog in the background is getting his hair cut the SAME WAY and will have the SAME FATE. Oh, man, this is too much. I haven’t laughed this hard since, well, the last post.

Happy Friday, people! That’s a wrap for the Fab Finds – hope you liked!!! And I hope everyone’s got some great plans in the works for the weekend. I hear the weather’s not going to be so great where I am, so maybe we’ll go dancing.

Remember that fit I said I was having over an upcoming blog post? Well, here’s the culprit. That is, aside from the Nutella which a dear friend so helpfully pointed out was contributing to the twitches. Now’s as good a time as any to admit that I was essentially free-basing Nutella for the better half of yesterday. It was my first time, and I overdid it. I learned my lesson. No biggie. No big whoop. Who caaaaares?!! Ok, WHAT THE F IS GOING ON.

Now, when you go check it out, you’ll notice that yes, some of the dresses on there are decidedly slutty. Like, for example, the fact that they’re selling this as a “top,” in the “tops” section. Yes, just put those aside. If you can do that, there’s seriously not much more muck to trudge through on this site. Which leads me to the overwhelmed thing I started in on a few sentences ago. I tend to have this combined physical and mental response – I get all discombobulated – and it’s the result of seeing a bazillion adorable frocks, all at extremely fair prices. When the two chemically react with one another they cause my mind to blow up in ecstasy. Pure, unadulterated, magically delicious (and oh how perfect would it be if it was also sexual) ecstasy.

But putting aside my only recently surfacing unfulfilled desires for fashion-sex, I have some advice for you.

Wear one of these for your engagement photo session. If you do, you will like the way your pictures turn out. Trust.

Moon Terrace Dress

Souvenir Dress

Divine Approval Dress

Take It Slow Dress

Deft Precision Dress

Femme Fatale Dress

Boston Fancy Dress

Double Cross Dress

Sweetest Thing Dress

Paint the Roses Red Dress

Guess what? You can find all that yumminess over at LuLu’s. You’re welcome. ;)

Maybe you can imagine my excitement when I saw this over on one of my favorite wedding blogs ever:

If that’s too tiny, for God’s sake go check out the post on the Wedding Chicks’ blog. They are AWESOME, and I’m not just saying that because of the massive shout out love they gave me re: my new role as a Style Me Pretty guest blogger. … But ok that is part of it. Speaking of… THANK YOU for that massive front page shout out, ladies! You have officially made my week and a half. And not the kind that goes from Monday all the way through to Thursday. No, no. The kind that includes two weekends. AKA the best kind. AKA OMIGOD the Wedding Chicks talked about me!!!!!!!!

Lots o’ love goin’ around these days. Feeling really blessed to be involved in it all.

So, I must start off with the most important piece of news today… well, it was yesterday, but whatever here’s the news:

I’m the newest guest blogger on Style Me Pretty!!! WHAT?! I know! Abby does such a great job over there and I’m having an absolute blast being a part of all the wedding action to be had. I hope you guys like my posts going forward! Be sure to check out the first and second parts of my very first wedding feature! That is, if giant inflatable swans at an elegant backyard wedding are the kinds of things that pique your interest.

See them? See the swans? Yes, they are fake. Yes, I would have wanted to ride them, had I attended Nada and Paul’s wedding. Seriously, how did everybody resist?

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I’m completely smitten with these fabulous – and free! – desktop wallpapers that Ruche has create for our personal use and endless enjoyment. Aren’t they ridic?

I’m currently using this one:

And this next one is the spittin’ image of that super sweet e-session I featured recently on this here bloggity blog. Remember? Now you can have the same-ish background that couple had! And, depending on the size of your computer screen/your personal height, you might be able to pose in front of it for your very own e-session! Yeah, not so much. But all [totally idiotic] kidding aside, I am loving these backgrounds to death!

Crossing my fingers someone knows and decides to email me about it. Because I love it like I would my own child. That much.

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Speaking of gowns, I’m also loving J.Crew’s wedding offerings… and REALLY loving the fact that they’re finally opening up an actual bridal store so that we can all go inside of it and actually TRY ON THEIR WEDDING DRESSES. Because, really, what’s the point if we can’t try them on?

And you know how much I covet their flower girl line. Put that little lady in one of those fancy frocks, and she’ll never change out of it.

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Ok, one more thing: I saw these DIY wedding invitations here on Style Me Pretty the other day. How. Fabulous. Are. These. Invitations. How fabulous? The bride designed, cut, perforated, printed and compiled all 200 of them… herself. We should all be so committed to our goals.

Her tools: a sewing machine, paper cutter, home printer, tons of lace, ribbon for days, a crapload of pearls, and hand seals.

When I saw these photos from Tina and Stephen’s Carmel, California wedding, shot by the talented Aaron Delesie, I got really, really excited. Which immediately translated into having to share all the yummy goodness with you. Of course, I’m not surprised by the ridiculously phenomenal quality of these images… you see, Aaron’s no amateur.

Ok, enough with the words – get ready, because these details are AMAZING… for starters, just LOOK AT THAT DRESS!!!

“If I had a hundred wishes I would give them all to you.”

Exquisite, right? I am so in awe of these images! I’m a big fan of tiny but meaningful touches in a wedding, and that wheel of “Wish” tickets totally hit the spot for me today.

Reminds me of a nice little moment that happened last weekend at the arcade with the boy (yes, laugh it out, we went to the arcade. It may be for youngsters, but I think we could all benefit from a little air hockey in our lives). So, near the end of the evening, we ended up playing a trivia game against another couple and totally clobbering them, which was kind of extremely awesome. We are competitive apart, so when we join forces… you understand. Anyway, when all was said and done, we realized we had about a gazillion prize tickets at our feet. When I was a kid, I was ALL ABOUT the prize tickets… so I was surprised by how little I cared on this day. I just can’t believe that plastic parachuting militiamen and kazoos were a good enough reward for the blood, sweat and tears I poured into accumulating those tickets. Even if I was only seven, those prizes are seriously LACKING.

Back to the present day story; we added them up, and together we had approximately a lot of tickets. We walked over to the counter and scanned our options ~ yup, paratroopers and kazoos still available. Nice. We weren’t finding anything.

Next thing I know, fiancé motions to follow him and, leaving our position in line, he spots a young man with an infant in his arms. And what does he do? He hands our tickets over to them. I was so, incredibly angry at him I cou— just kidding.